Tub spout assembly

ABSTRACT

An improved tub spout assembly is disclosed having a tub outlet and a side tube adapted to be attached to a hand-held spray unit. A diverter valve in the spout assembly is operable to cause water to discharge either from the tub outlet or hand spray unit. The side tube projects into a conduit within the assembly and has an inner end face shaped to deflect water flowing in the conduit over and past the inlet orifice of the side tube when the diverter valve is positioned to cause outflow through the tub outlet.

United States Patent Appl. No.: 449,949

U.S. Cl. 137/119; 4/145; 137/467 Int. C1. F16K 1/00 Field'of Search4/145, 148, 192; 137/119,

12/1927 Glauber 4/148 Ward [451 Oct. 21 1975 [54] TUB SPOUT ASSEMBLY3,012,251 12/1961 Fife 137/597 x [76] Inventor: Irving A. ward, 2709 LaCuesta 3,656,503 4/1972 Ward 137/119 X .iz Helghts Cahf' PrimaryExaminer-Robert G. Nilson Attorney, Agent, or FirmFraser and Bogucki{22] Filed: Mar. 11, 1974 5 7 1 ABSTRACT 12 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures lno US. Patent Oct. 21, 1975 3,913,605

T-UB srour ASSEMBLY This "invention relates generally to an improvedtubspoutassembly' having a'tub outlet, a-hand spray unit outlet andadiverter valve forsele'ctively causing the waterto flow through. one ortheother of said:outlets.-

A: primaryliobject of. the present invention is to proi vide a-tubspoutassemblyfor usei'with'ahand spray unit in which a single valve inthe tub spout, typically in the tub outlet portion:thereof,-is used toselect the outflow path. 6. I h r Another object of the invention is toprovide aztub spout assembly of the type described .in whichno shutoffvalve is required in the handheld spray unit, yet in which water rise inthe spray unit hose is mi nimized during outflow through thetub outlet.t

FIG. 1-isaside elevation view, partly insection, of a tub spout assemblyin accordance with. the presentin- FIG. 2 is acrosssection view of tl'ieassem at Fro. 1 as seen along the plane 2-2 transverse-of the .longitu 1dinal axiso f the assemblyof FIG, 1; i

RIG. 3 is a cross-section view ,of a portion of at axis of-theassernbly; and,

4 is a cr,os ssection view tof the tub, outletportion ssembly of P16. 1.A 1

DETAILEDDESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT u.s. Pat. No. 3,656,503issued Apr. 13,1972 to the inventor herein is incorporated by ,referencefor background purposes and for its showing of a tub spout di vertervalve of the type which maybe utilized herein.

Turning now Ito'thetdrawin gs, there is shown a tub spout assembly 10adapted to be threadedly secured to an existing pipe nipple 12 projecting from the wall l 4. For purposes of facilitating the description ofthe assembly .10 and toprovide a reference, the assembly 10 may beiviewed as having a longitudinal axis l6perpendiclulartothe wall 14 andforming an extension of the longitudinal, central axis of the nipple 12.r

The assembly lo includes a spouthousing 18 of conventional shape havingan internal, transverse partition ZOdefini ngat one end of'the housing achamber 22 having a tub discharge opening or outlet 24. Thechamberi22jencloses a divertervalve 26 which'ma'y take the form of thatdisclosed in the aforementioned patent.

Briefly, the diverter valve 26 includes a ring member 28 secured inpress fit relation to the wall of the chamber 20. The ring member 28 hasan inwardly directed flange 30 defining a central aperture 32. Theflange 30 functions as a'diverter valve seat as willbe subsequentlydescribed in greater detail.

A post 34 extends through the central aperture 32 and is fastened at oneend to the spout housingd'by screw threads 36. Ribs 38 centerthefpost 34within the central aperture and reduce swirling of the water streamexiting through the tub outlet 24. The lower end 1 of the post 34 has acircumferential groove 40 retaining a flexible, washer-shaped seal 42which niay be "formed of synthetic rubbe'r such as'a Nitrile compound.

The post 34 includes a vertically slidable stern-44 terminating at itsupper end in an enlarged knob 46 which includes within a recess thereofa weight 48 for biasing v u the as sembly qf-lFlG 1 as seen along (aplane including the;

the stem '44 'downwardly.'At the opposite end of the stem 44 is-abifurcat'ed' tip defined by an axial slot 50 i and having about itsouter surface an-annular groove The post 34 further includes a cup 60retained by the groove 52. Thecup 60 includes a bottom Wall 62havingdrain holes-64 and a generally cylindrical side wall 66 definingon the interior shoulder 68. 1 t a The 'uppercircumferential margin'ofthe cylindrical wall 66 is bent to define an inwardly directed annularlip 70 which, in the open position of the diverter valve as showninFlGQl, rests against the washer seal 42. In 1 the open position, wateris free to pass through the aperture 32 in-the flange 30, about andbetween the ribs- 38 and'out through the tub-'outlet24xln this positionof the valveyaswill be more fully described below,

water flows solely from the tub outlet 24 1 The internal partition 20'has athr'eaded'opening for receiving a plastic adapter conduit 82vvhichextends along the longitudinal axis 16 and includes at its rearextremityanou'twardly extending flange 84 the The adapter conduit'82 has signedfor engagement by corresponding splines on an installation tool (notshown) adapted to be inserted into the conduit 82 frornthe flanged endthereof;

The tub spoutassembly 10 of the present invention further includes aplastic side tube 96 for coupling the spout assembly-to a hand sprayunit (not shown). The sidetube 96 has an innerportion'98 projecting intothe bore 86 generally across a diameter thereof and an outer portion 100including means, in the form ofexternal threads 102, for'coupling thetube 96 to ahand spray unit hose fitting 104 connected'to the hand sprayunit hose 106.2The threadedportion 102 of theside tube 96 is cantedforwardly so that clearance between the'spray hose -l06'and the rim ofthe bathtub is'assured.

The side tube 96 passes through anaperture in the spout housing-J18 andis retained by a sleeve 112 protruding from and formed integral with theadapter conduit 82. Axially directed keyways ll4 formedin the inner wallof the sleeve 112 receive corresponding keys 116 projecting from theouter surface ofthe side tube 96 to thereby fix the orientation of theside tube relative to the adapter conduit; a

To facilitate installation of the side tube 96, the male threads at theforward end of the adapter conduit 82 are designed so that when a snug,watertightfit is obtained as the adapter conduit is threaded into place,the sleeve 112willb'e 'in alignment with the aperture 110 in thespouthousing. Suitable adhesive is applied to the side tube 96" which isthen inserted through the .aperture 110into the sleeve 112 and advanceduntil the keys 116 engage the ends of the keyways 114. This au'tomatically" insures the properorientation of the side tube 96 relativeto the adapter conduit 82 and spout;

surfacethereof a sealing internal splines 90 d e-vi housing 18 anddetermines the extent of its projection into the bore 86. It will alsobe noted, making reference especially to FIG. 2, that the side tube 96is angularly displaced from the vertical to minimize interferencebetween the hand spray unit hose 106 and the water discharging from thetub spout outlet 24.

The side tube 96 has an internal passageway 120 leading from an inletorifice 122 of the side tube. The tube 96 moreover has an inlet end face124 which is shaped so as to deflect around the inlet orifice waterflowing from the pipe nipple 12 to the tube outlet 24.

More specifically, the inlet end face 124 is arched or domed andincludes a sloping rear or upstream portion 126 (closest to the pipenipple 12) which diverges from the longitudinal axis 16 in the directionof water flow. An oppositely sloping forward or downstream portion 128of the inlet end face 124 includes substantially all of the inletorifice and converges with the longitudinal axis 16 in the direction ofwater flow.

By sloping the upstream portion 126 of the side tube inlet face 124 asdescribed, the water is deflected away from the inlet orifice 122 sothat it flows past the orifice 122 and not into it. The opposite slopeof the downstream portion 128 of the inlet face 124 enhances thiseffect. It is believed that during intermediate rates of water flow,some aspiration occurs on account of the, Bernoulli effect to. furtheraid in preventing outflow.

through the'side tube .96 but this is believed to be incidental only anddoes not appear to be necessary for the proper operation of the device.

When operationxof the hand spray unit is desired, the diverter valve 26is closed by pulling up on the knob 46 thereby raising the cup 60 untilthe lip 70 contacts the seat 30 as best shown in FIG. 4. Water flowinginto the diverter valve chamber 22 enters the cup 60 and exerts anupward force on the inside of the lip 70 which force is sufficient tohold the lip 70 against the seat 30 thereby blocking the flow of waterbetween the cup and the seat. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the waterpressure causes the washer-shaped seal 42 to flex downwardly intocontact with the shoulder 68 to seal off the drain holes 64.-Thus, nowater is able to pass through the diverter valve assembly 26 to the tuboutlet 24, all the water thereby being compelled to pass through theside tube 96 and out through the hand spray unit. The small amount ofback pressure produced by the hand spray unitis enough to keep thediverter valve closed- The water pressure within the diverter valve 26is substantially reduced when the main faucets (not shown) are turnedoff and under this reduced pressure the washer seal 42 flexes upwardlybreaking the seal and permitting water to seep between the washer seal42 and the shoulder 68 and. drain through the holes 64 in the bottom ofthe cup 60. When the pressure drops below a predetermined level becauseof the drainage of water in the manner described, the upward pressure onthe lip 70 will be insufficient to overcome the weight of the cup 60,stem 44 and weight 48. At this point the cup 60 drops away from the seat30 thereby opening the diverter valve.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the hand spray unit does notneed its own shutoff valve although such valve could be present. Thereis a disadvantage in the latter case, however,'in that two valves,namely, the hand spray unit valve and the diverter valve, would have tobe manipulated in order to use the hand spray unit.

In accordance with one specific, practical example of the invention, theconduit bore 86 is slightly tapered, the smaller, forward end having adiameter of about 0.5 inch and the diameter just downstream of theinternal threads at the flanged end being about 0.7 inch. The distance d(FIG; 3), that is, the gap between the peak of the domed inlet face 124and the closest point along the wall of the bore 86, is about 0.045inch. The outside diameter of the side tube is about 0.45 inch therebyforming a substantial constriction within the bore 86 which speeds upconsiderably the flow of water about the side tube 96. This is adesirablecondition which aids the deflecting action of the upstreamslope 126 of the inlet face 124.

For side tube outside diameters and adapter conduit bore diametersdifferent than those mentioned, the distance d may be expected to changeaccordingly in order to optimize the operation of the device, that is,to minimize water rise in the hose 106 when the diverter valve 26 is inthe tub spout position. It appears that in all practical cases, however,the side tube 96 will project into the bore a distance substantiallygreater than the bore radius.

The cross-sectional flow area in the conduit 82 defined by the bore 86and the side tube 96, that is, the flow area at the section seen in FIG.2, is slightly less than the area of the central aperture 32. In theabsence of such flow area relationship, the back pressure cre* ated atthe aperture 32, especially at higher flow'rates, would tend to divertwater to the hand spray unit. In other words, the deflecting action ofthe inlet end face 124 would tend to be defeated.

What is claimed is:

l. A spout assembly comprising:

a spout housing having a discharge opening;

a diverter valve mounted within the spout housing;

a conduit mounted within the spout housing for conducting water from awater supply pipe to the diverter valve, said conduit having a bore;tube projecting into the bore of the conduit, the tube being disposedgenerally transverse of the direction of flow in the conduit, the tubehaving an inlet end within the bore, the inlet end having an inletorifice and being shaped to deflect water past the inlet orifice andthereby minimize entry thereof into the inlet orifice during flow ofwater through the diverter valve, the diverter valve being selectivelyoperable to prevent water outflow from the discharge opening to therebydivert the water to flow out through the tube.

2. An assembly, as defined in claim 1, in which:

the inlet end of the tube is sloped in the direction of water flow todeflect the water when the diverter valve is positioned for outflowthrough the discharge opening.

3. An assembly, as defined in claim 1, in which:

the tube projects into the bore a distance greater than the radius ofthe bore. 7 r 4. An assembly, as defined in claim 1, in which: thediverter valve includes means defining an aperture through which thewater flows to the discharge opening, the flow area of the aperturebeing larger a manually operable diverter valve mounted within the spouthousing adjacent the tub outlet;

a conduit mounted in the spout housing, the conduit having an inletportion adapted to be coupled to a water supply pipe and a bore bringinginto communication the inlet portion of the conduit and the divertervalve, the diverter valve being selectively operable to breakcommunication between the inlet portion of the conduit and the tuboutlet; and

a side tube attached to the conduit, said side tube having: an inletorifice; an outer portion extending through an opening in the spouthousing and adapted for connection to a hand spray hose; and an innerportion projecting into the bore of the conduit a distance substantiallygreater than the radius of the bore, the inner portion terminating at aninlet end surface about the inlet orifice, the portion of the inlet endsurface upstream of the inlet orifice being sloped to deflect water pastthe inlet orifice during flow of water from the inlet portion of theconduit to the tub outlet thereby minimizing the entry of water into theinlet orifice, closing of the diverter valve causing the water to flowthrough the side tube. 6. A tub spout, as defined in claim 5, in which:the portion of the inlet end surface including substantially all of theinlet orifice is sloped oppositely to the slope of the upstream portionof the inlet end surface to aid in minimizing the entry of water whenthe diverter valve is positioned for outflow through the tub outlet. 7.A tub spout, as defined in claim 5, in which:

the outer portion of the side tube includes a threaded portion forreceiving the hand spray hose, the threaded portion being canted towardthe tub outlet for providing clearance between the hand spray hose andthe tub.

8. A tub spout, as defined in claim 5, in which:

the side tube is angularly displaced relative to the direction of wateroutflow from the tub outlet to minimize interference between the handspray hose and water flow from the tub outlet.

9. A tub spout, as defined in claim 5, in which:

the diverter valve includes means defining an aperture through which thewater flows to the tub outlet, the flow area of the aperture beinglarger than the smallest flow area defined by the side tube and the boreof the conduit.

10. A tub spout, as defined in claim 5, in which:

the conduit includes at the inlet portion thereof an outwardly extendingflange having an outer periphery closely conforming to the contour ofthe interior wall of the spout housing.

11. A tub spout, as defined in claim 5, in which:

the conduit is threadedly secured, at the end opposite the inletportion, to the spout housing and the bore of the conduit includeslongitudinally extending spline means adapted to be engaged to effectinstallation of the conduit.

12. A tub spout, as defined in claim 5, in which:

the conduit includes a radially extending sleeve for receiving the sidetube, the side tube being keyed to the sleeve to affixjts positionrelative to the conduit.

1. A spout assembly comprising: a spout housing having a dischargeopening; a diverter valve mounted within the spout housing; a conduitmounted within the spout housing for conducting water from a watersupply pipe to the diverter valve, said conduit having a bore; a tubeprojecting into the bore of the conduit, the tube being disposedgenerally transverse of the direction of flow in the conduit, the tubehaving an inlet end within the bore, the inlet end having an inletorifice and being shaped to deflect water past the inlet orifice andthereby minimize entry thereof into the inlet orifice during flow ofwater through the diverter valve, the diverter valve being selectivelyoperable to prevent water outflow from the discharge opening to therebydivert the water to flow out through the tube.
 2. An assembly, asdefined in claim 1, in which: the inlet end of the tube is sloped in thedirection of water flow to deflect the water when the diverter valve ispositioned for outflow through the discharge opening.
 3. An assembly, asdefined in claim 1, in which: the tube projects into the bore a distancegreater than the radius of the bore.
 4. An assembly, as defined in claim1, in which: the diverter valve includes means defining an aperturethrough which the water flows to the discharge opening, the flow area ofthe aperture being larger than the smallest flow area defined by thetube and bore.
 5. A tub spout comprising: a spout housing defining a tuboutlet; a manually operable diverter valve mounted within the spouthousing adjacent the tub outlet; a conduit mounted in the spout housing,the conduit having an inlet portion adapted to be coupled to a watersupply pipe and a bore bringing into communication the inlet portion ofthe conduit and the diverter valve, the diverter valve being selectivelyoperable to break communication between the inlet portion of the conduitand the tub outlet; and a side tube attached to the conduit, said sidetube having: an inlet orifice; an outer portion extending through anopening in the spout housing and adapted for connection to a hand sprayhose; and an inner portion projecting into the bore of the conduit adistance substantially greater than the radius of the bore, the innerportion terminating at an inlet end surface about the inlet orifice, theportion of the inlet end surface upstream of the inlet orifice beingsloped to deflect water past the inlet orifice during flow of water fromthe inlet portion of the conduit to the tub outlet thereby minimizingthe entry of water into the inlet orifice, closing of the diverter valvecausing the water to flow through the side tube.
 6. A tub spout, asdefined in claim 5, in which: the portion of the inlet end surfaceincluding substantially all of the inlet orifice is sloped oppositely tothe slope of the upsTream portion of the inlet end surface to aid inminimizing the entry of water when the diverter valve is positioned foroutflow through the tub outlet.
 7. A tub spout, as defined in claim 5,in which: the outer portion of the side tube includes a threaded portionfor receiving the hand spray hose, the threaded portion being cantedtoward the tub outlet for providing clearance between the hand sprayhose and the tub.
 8. A tub spout, as defined in claim 5, in which: theside tube is angularly displaced relative to the direction of wateroutflow from the tub outlet to minimize interference between the handspray hose and water flow from the tub outlet.
 9. A tub spout, asdefined in claim 5, in which: the diverter valve includes means definingan aperture through which the water flows to the tub outlet, the flowarea of the aperture being larger than the smallest flow area defined bythe side tube and the bore of the conduit.
 10. A tub spout, as definedin claim 5, in which: the conduit includes at the inlet portion thereofan outwardly extending flange having an outer periphery closelyconforming to the contour of the interior wall of the spout housing. 11.A tub spout, as defined in claim 5, in which: the conduit is threadedlysecured, at the end opposite the inlet portion, to the spout housing andthe bore of the conduit includes longitudinally extending spline meansadapted to be engaged to effect installation of the conduit.
 12. A tubspout, as defined in claim 5, in which: the conduit includes a radiallyextending sleeve for receiving the side tube, the side tube being keyedto the sleeve to affix its position relative to the conduit.